


A New Life

by scottishred



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adoption, Family, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:26:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 10,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29508270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scottishred/pseuds/scottishred
Summary: Boyfriends Sirius Black and Remus Lupin adopt Harry Potter after the death of his parents Lily and James. This is their story.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 7
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

A New Life Chapter One

James and Lily Potter. Dead. It was the worst day in history quite frankly, and the fact that James and Lily, James and Lily, were no longer seemed impossible to deal with and process. Their little Harry had unknowingly just defeated the most powerful dark wizard, but the sacrifices that came with it were unbearable for Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Just when life seemed to be going perfectly, so beautiful and wonderful, full of love and family, their world changed so dramatically. The two partners were now responsible for taking care of their godson, all while trying to cope with their grief. This was certainly going to be a challenge.

Remus woke up that morning, startled and anxious, at hearing the sound of Harry crying from his crib. He hadn’t quite gotten used to the fact that there was a precious life he and his partner were now in charge of. Just as Remus had gotten up to go and find out what Harry was making a fuss over, the crying stopped. Remus went to go and investigate, and saw his sleepy boyfriend cradling Harry. Sirius’s hair was coming out of his iconic bun, and it seemed he had slept on the bed in the spare bedroom where they had quickly set up a crib for Harry. It had only been a week since James and Lily died, and a week since poor little Harry had been placed in their custody.  
“Padfoot, sweetheart, how much sleep have you had?” Remus asked Sirius with concern.  
“Enough, I’m fine,” he murmured whilst soothing Harry.  
“Give him to me, I’ll go and get him fed,” Remus went to go and take Harry from Sirius, when suddenly Sirius jerked away from Remus.  
“I-I’m sorry, but it’s just, he looked at me and he looks so much like how James looked as a baby…” Sirius trailed off, looking at Harry and cooing at him. Remus stared at the two of them for a while, and with a sigh, left the room to go and prepare some food for the three of them. Sirius was having a hard time accepting what had happened. Remus was too, if he was going to be honest with himself.  
Everything seemed like a blur that night, an awful nightmare. Sirius had made the hard decision of giving the responsibility of being secretkeeper to Peter in an attempt to confuse Voldemort, but Peter turned on the Potter’s. Sirius had had a bad feeling afterwards, but him and Remus got to the house too late. There lay the bodies of their best friends, and the corpse of Voldemort, the completely empty corpse that lay too close to Lily’s and too close to crying Harry. Sirius lost his mind and began sobbing uncontrollably. He went back downstairs and laid his head on James’s chest in an attempt to hear his heart beat again, to hear his laugh, anything. Remus picked up Harry and tried to soothe him whilst staring at the carnage Voldemort had caused. His beautiful, fiery Lily, his best friend who was the only one that could keep up with him in a game of chess. What had Peter done.  
This day was going to be fresh in everyone’s minds today. The day of the funeral. Remus and Sirius left the organising of it to other members of the order. Molly and Arthur were kind enough to plan most of it for them. When the sudden responsibility of Harry was bestowed onto the two, they didn’t know if they’d be able to plan their friend’s funeral as well. Remus tried to get Harry into some nice clothes, but it was very difficult to get smart trousers onto a fussy one year old. Harry was kicking and crying, almost like he knew where they were going. Sirius got up off their bed and took him from Remus to help out. The three of them were out the door soon enough, on their way to a the Godric’s Hollow graveyard to say their final goodbyes to the best people in their lives.

“Sirius, Sirius, wake up, love, wake up please,” Remus was shaking Sirius who was tossing and turning. “Sirius, please wake up, you’re having a nightmare.” Sirius started to wake up, and with a gasp, sat up straight sobbing.  
“Sweet thing, you’re ok, everything is ok. You’re safe, Harry’s safe, I’m safe,” Remus said this over and over, stroking his parnter’s hair as he calmed down. Sirius began to breathe normally and rested his head on his boyfriend’s chest. Tears ran down Remus’s face at the thought of everything. Seeing their friend’s bodies lowered into the ground was the hardest thing he’s ever had to go through. He was glad in that moment that Harry was too young to remember this all. The pair fell back to sleep shortly after, entangled together, a reminder they still had each other.


	2. Chapter Two

It had been a few weeks since the death of Lily and James Potter, and the pair were having a busy morning, cleaning the house up ready for Ron and the Weasley twins to come over for a play date.   
“Sirius, will you please just sit down and eat your toast” Remus sighed to his partner. Their kitchen was small, cramped, and Remus was trying to eat his breakfast whilst also feeding Harry. Sirius had never been Molly Weasley’s favourite person, and it seemed Sirius thought having polished cutlery was going to help this fact.   
“I’m sorry Moony, but if Molly doesn’t start to like me, then Harry’s never going to have any friends! The Weasleys are our best shot at Harry having friends! There aren’t too many other options you know, apart from the Longbottom kid, but his grandma is batshit crazy. Remus! This is serious!” Remus was giggling at the sight of his strong, brave Sirius unravelling like an idiot at the thought of playdates for Harry. Remus stood up and leant down to give him a kiss.   
“Oh Padfoot, calm down! Molly likes you well enough, but if the two of you start bickering, I’ll step in,” Sirius wrapped his arms around Remus’s tall body and took a moment to listen to his heart. At the moment, Remus’s heartbeat was one of the only things that could calm Sirius down. Sirius sighed and went to pick up Harry and held him up over his head and bounced him up and down. The sound of Sirius his and adopted son laughing was like music to Remus’s ears. Soon, after every knife and fork was looking spotless, the sound of the Weasley’s coming through the floo network was heard by the three of them.   
“Molly! Looking lovely as ever…” Remus trailed off seeing what looked like dried baby food in her hair. The twins ran over to Harry as soon as they stepped out of the fireplace.  
“Ah, very funny Remus. Ginny is a handful, she’s not sleeping at all, and Ron here keeps waking up at the crack of dawn it seems,” Molly shifted her footing to set Ron down, and him, the twins and Harry ran off to play with their toys. The youngest Weasley was swaddled and was starting to wake up a bit. Remus took her from Molly and waved his fingers in her face to say hello. Ginny began trying to grab onto them. Remus handed her over to Sirius as he stood awkwardly to the side not really knowing where him and Molly stood. Remus smiled to himself and announced he was away to look after the kids. Sirius stared at the back of his partner’s head in disbelief. How dare he leave him! Sirius decided he was withholding any kisses for the next week at least.   
“So Molly… how’s Arthur these days?” Sirius asked awkwardly to fill what seemed like everlasting silence.   
“He’s good, good. Since we don’t need The Order anymore, he’s got more time to mess around with muggle objects. And he’s loving having a daughter,” Molly said whilst she looked around the sitting room.   
“Well, please, sit down, make yourself comfortable, I can go and get something for you to drink. Tea?” Sirius asked as he passed Ginny back to Molly. Molly agreed and Sirius went to the kitchen in a huff. Remus was already in the kitchen getting juice for the boys, and Sirius flopped onto the kitchen table with a pout.  
“Moooony,” Sirius drawled out, “Why would you leave me with Molly, you know she doesn’t like me. That was the most awkward few minutes of my life!” Sirius said, dramatic as ever.  
“Sirius Orion Black, stop being such a drama queen,” Remus tutted, placing a kiss on his cheek. “Now, go back out there and I’ll be there right after I get the boys their juice.” Sirius brought the tea out along with some biscuits. Sirius sat down next to Molly on their sofa and a silence engulfed the two of them.  
“I just wanted to say- “  
“I hope that-“Both Molly and Sirius tried to talk at the same time. “After you, please,” Sirius insisted.  
“Ok, I just wanted to say that I hope you know that my feelings about you have changed. What with the death of James and Lily and suddenly needing to become a father, I have a lot more respect for you than I used to,” Sirius opened his mouth to object, “But I want you to know, that Arthur and I are here for you, and will always help you out with Harry.”  
“Molly, thank you so much. That means a lot coming from you. I know I used to be very immature but marrying Remus and suddenly having to start a family really sobers up a person. So thank you,” Sirius leant across to give Molly a hug, making sure not to squash Ginny.   
“That was truly lovely, thank you Molly,” Remus came out from behind the living room door, “And I knew the two of you would make up if I left you alone long enough!” Remus knew that his Padfoot would not be happy about this when Molly left. But it had to be done, or Sirius was right, Harry really would end up with no friends!

\-----

The two were left clearing up the house after the Weasley kids left and they put Harry down for his afternoon sleep. They moved together in their small kitchen in a routine the two of them knew off by heart. A synchronised pair. There was a level of contentment and happiness in the air that the two had not felt for a while.  
“Moony, thank you,” Sirius turned around to him. “I needed to calm down about Molly. But I was worried Harry was going to miss out on a maternal figure and I know Molly would be amazing with him, I guess I was wrong…” Sirius mumbled the last part.  
“Sirius, did, did you just admit you were wrong? A day I never thought I would see!” Remus leant down to give him a kiss. “I love you, you idiot.” The pair had a nice afternoon, playing with Harry and feeling a sense of hope.


	3. Chapter Three

The next few months had their ups and downs. Sirius had his good days and his bad ones. He felt that the death of his friends was all his fault, and it took a lot out of Remus to try to help him. Words of torment would circle Sirius’s head, ‘this is your fault’, ‘how could you do this to your best friends’, ‘James did everything to help you and this is how you repay him?’ It felt like it was never ending some days, and with the negative comments came Sirius’s depressive episodes. Days at a time where he wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t get out of bed, wouldn’t talk to his partner, couldn’t look at Harry for his sweet little face reminded him to much of what he’d done.   
“Sirius, please, come and have some lunch. It’s split pea soup, your favourite,” Remus sat down on the bed next to Sirius, gently stroking his black, curly hair, “Sweetheart, I need you to come and at least have something to drink. And I’ve got some chocolate with your name on it if you want it,” Sirius shrugged Remus’s hand off, and rolled away from him. Remus took the hint and went back to Harry and his lunch, knowing this must be a really bad day. Remus didn’t want to bother him, knowing this unbearable feeling of sadness from the days he would transform without his Marauders on the full moon. The inner torment was agonizing, and he knew that Sirius needed time and love to heal. Remus spent days like these with Harry, being quiet to not disturb his sleeping partner upstairs. The two would go out to a park and Harry would have the time of his life, laughing and swinging on the swing set, or Remus would bake some chocolate treats and Harry would stick his grubby toddler hands in the flour. Remus, whilst trying not to feel guilty about it, was really loving raising Harry. He knew Harry would be a brilliant wizard, and man one day. Remus only hoped that Sirius would start to feel better soon so he could be a part of these precious moments Remus had with Harry. 

\-----

Sirius and Remus decided that after nearly five months since James and Lily Potter’s death, and their becoming new parents, that they needed a date night. The wonderful Weasley family looked after Harry for the night, as, to quote Molly Weasley, the house felt rather quiet since their eldest had left for Hogwarts this school year. The couple dropped their drooling adopted son off, and in their finest robes, went out for the night. The pair were really looking forward to this date night, as they had only been ‘married’ for a few months before the death of their friends and felt that had perhaps missed out on being young and in love without children. So tonight was there chance.   
“Moony! Let’s go dancing! I want to show you some of my moves,” Sirius winked at his partner, giving him a cheeky grin. Remus laughed as the two apparated to their favourite wizard only club. The night was fun, and as they danced, the old feeling the two used to have came back, the feeling of intoxicating love and happiness. The pair were looking into each other’s eyes as they danced, and it was as if it was just the two of them in that room, the two of them where there was no one judging their love and their choices, no one expecting anything from them, it was just them. As Remus danced, and as he looked into his partner’s hauntingly beautiful grey eyes, he saw the young man he fell in love with at Hogwarts, the young, carefree, joker he loves. Sirius saw his shy, lovely nerd who would spend his days eating chocolate and reading in the library. This overwhelming feeling that everything was going to be alright came over the two of them as they danced, knowing that they could handle anything as long as they had each other. 

\-----

After dancing for what felt like hours, the two went out for a candlelit dinner at a muggle restaurant. It was a small Italian place in the centre of London, perfectly lit and with just the right amount of background music.   
“Sirius,” Remus looked at his striking partner, “do you think we’re doing a good job with Harry?” He looked down at the table, feeling a bit anxious for Sirius’s response. He had had this background thought since Harry was placed in their care. Sirius was quiet for a minute, staring at his hands, wondering the same thing.  
“Moons, I think we’re doing the best we can. Harry is happy and healthy, he has love in his life, and we did the right thing by stepping up and taking him instead of letting Dumbledore give him to his wretched aunt and uncle. We might not have been ready to be parents, but we are surrounding him with family and friends, and I think that I am falling more and more in love with you watching you be a parent to him,” Sirius looked back up at Remus, with complete adoration in his eyes, “You were born to be a dad Moons. He loves us and we love him. That’s really all there is to it, I think,” Sirius said in a thoughtful voice. It was clear he had been thinking this too, “I know you were worried, especially with how you were going to handle being a parent and having to transform every full moon, but sweetheart, see how well you’ve been doing! Taking your potion and sleeping in the shed is working, and Harry won’t ever see or know anything until he’s ready.” Sirius reached across the table and squeezed Remus’s forever cold hands.   
“Padfoot, I love you,” Remus squeezed his partner’s hand back, “Now, what are you having to eat? We could always share spaghetti like in that dog movie you love so much.” The two laughed and full of love and Italian food, went home that night to a quiet house, looking forward to seeing their little Harry again the next morning. 

\-----


	4. Chapter Four

Things were getting easier; Remus and Sirius could agree. They both still had bad days, for Sirius especially, it was more noticeable, but for Remus it presented in a lack of interest for the things he used to enjoy. Remus wasn’t reading or studying as much as he used to, and the pair felt that while they were raising Harry, it didn’t leave room for much else. The months were flying past though, and Harry grew up each day it seemed. He was starting to get the hang of talking, and walking. It was all bittersweet, and Remus and Sirius were so proud of their adopted son, but they also felt this devastating pain as they knew that James and Lily were missing out on their boy growing up and being amazing. The hardest day for the two was Harry’s second birthday. This was a day that James and Lily Potter should be seeing. Sirius and Remus knew though, that they just simply couldn’t spend the day mourning about this fact, as they had a birthday party to plan. They were going to invite the old members of the Order over, and the children Harry’s age so that he could interact more with kids his own age. Sirius and Remus had been planning this party for a few weeks, wanting everything to go smoothly. They had ordered a cake from a magical bakery a few towns over, in the shape of a niffler. The Weasley’s, Alice and Frank Longbottom’s kid, Mad Eye, Hagrid, McGonagall, Shacklebolt, and Dumbledore, were all invited. And since it was summer, it was going to be a lovely garden party.   
“Happy, happy birthday Harry!” Remus and Sirius sang to Harry as they walked over to him, Harry bouncing up and down in his cot. The pair had put balloons all over Harry’s room, in the shape of all of his favourite magical creatures, and of course, one in the shape of the golden snitch. Harry’s room was the old spare room, and it had finally come together, right in time for his second birthday. The pair continued to sing and dance for Harry to their room, so they could start getting ready for the party.  
“Rem, can you help me get Harry dressed. He’s being a little squirm and I need to make sure my hair looks nice,” Sirius passed the fussy Harry to his partner, and started to comb back his messy black hair, tying it into it’s infamous bun. Remus, using his wand, made images of stags run around his head, and Harry and his little fingers tried to grab onto them.   
“Deer! Look at the deer!” Harry babbled as he tried to grab onto the stags.   
“Very good Harry! But, they’re stags, not deer,” Remus tickled Harry, until he was squealing with laughter, “My silly Harry!”  
“Oh, I love the sound of his laugh, let me!” Sirius came over, abandoning his hair, and scooped Harry up in his arms, flying him around the room. Harry’s laughter lit up the room. Sirius and Remus looked at each other, both smiling with their eyes. Remus reached down and tucked a loose tendril of hair behind his ear. Sirius stretched up and gave his lover a kiss. They pulled Harry into a hug and gave him a squeeze.  
“Get off me!” Harry giggled and squirmed away from his dads. Sirius and Remus proceeded to kiss all over his little face, making Harry laugh even more.

The Weasley’s were the first to arrive. All nine of them tumbling out of the floo network, Fred and George pushing Percy out of the way to run to the snack table, and Ron running over to Harry to play outside. Sirius and Remus had of course cast protective spells in the garden so the children wouldn’t stray away. Bill and Charlie came out of the floo network together, and came and shook Sirius and Remus’s hands, and Bill told the two all about Hogwarts, and then the two ran away to go and chase after the twins and Percy. Little Ginny was growing quickly and was nearly a year old. She was starting to get the hang of walking and was always trying to babble away to whoever would listen. The next to arrive were Mad Eye, McGonagall, Shacklebolt and Hagrid. They all came by and dropped off some presents for Harry and would find him to give him a hug. McGonagall especially. She picked up Harry and gave him lots of kisses all over his face and brought over his favourite biscuits. Lastly, Neville Longbottom and his grandma stopped by. Remus grabbed Ron and Harry to make sure Neville had someone to play with. The three ran around the house, taking turns on Harry’s small broom. The sound of kids laughing all over the house gave the pair a warm feeling in their hearts. Remus looked around at all of their friends and smiled to himself, happy with the people they had in their lives, even if there were so many missing. Lily, James, Alice and Frank, Molly’s brothers, and so many more. But in that moment, Remus promised to himself that those they had lost will never be forgotten by his family. Harry would be raised on stories of how strong and fierce his parents were.   
“Moony, is it time to cut the cake yet?” Sirius tugged on his boyfriend’s sleeve, acting more like a child than their son was. Remus rolled his eyes, laughing and announced that they cutting of the cake was about to begin. Everyone surrounded the table where the cake was outside. There were lights strung up all over the trees and shrubbery outside, and there were streamers and punting everywhere. Remus and Sirius both took Harry’s hands and lead him over to the cake.   
“Before we cut the cake. A toast is in order. On behalf of the three of us, I would like to thank you all for coming today and being in our lives. We are so grateful to have you all here and loving Harry. So, we’d like to drink to Harry, and we’d like to drink to James and Lily. They made the little tyrant, and they are greatly missed on this day especially. To Harry, Lily and James,” The group put their glasses to the sky at Sirius’s words, and drank, all feeling the bittersweet feeling in the air. Sirius picked up Harry to blow out the cake and Remus took a magical photo of Harry trying his absolute hardest to blow out the two candles on the cake. The photo also showed Sirius sneakily blowing them out for Harry. Everyone cheered and laughed as Harry reached his grubby toddler hands into the cake and shoved some in his mouth. The group all sat outside, the sun just setting, feeling content with the day, happy and full of cake as the kids started to get tired. Remus picked up Harry and sat him on his lap, giving him a squeeze and a kiss on the head. Harry soon started to doze off on Remus’s lap. Sirius made sure to get more photos of little Harry snoozing. Sirius kissed Remus and stroked his son’s hair. The other wizards and witches started to disparate or floo back to their homes, and the pair took Harry to his bed.   
“I wish they’d seen this Moony,” Sirius said as he closed the door to Harry’s room, “He’s getting so big and they deserve to see him growing. It’s so unfair Moons,” Sirius slid down the door, sobbing into his hands, finally letting the sadness of the day hit him. Remus slid down next to him, crying too. Sirius grabbed Remus and hugged him to him. The pair embraced and sobbed into each other’s shoulders, feeling the pain they’d been trying to ignore today for Harry’s sake. The pair were so young, only twenty-two years old, and had already dealt with their fair share of sadness and trauma. And on top of that, they were raising a child as well. The two of them had been so strong for the past eight months, trying to hold it together as best they could, but they had to let themselves feel the raw pain. And they did just that. When they were ready, Remus stood up and held his hand out for his partner, his lover, his everything and the two went to their room and slept away the heartache, needing to be strong once again, tomorrow.


	5. Chapter Five

Today marked the one-year anniversary of Lily and James’s death. Halloween. The holiday was meant to be joyous, fun, silly, but the pair knew they weren’t going to want to celebrate this year. However, having a small kid who loved sugar meant they couldn’t exactly ignore it. Sirius magicked a costume together for him, dressing him up as his favourite superhero from a muggle movie, something about a spider.  
“Spiderman! Oh, Padfoot, he was my favourite superhero growing up. He can shoot webs out of his hand, it’s so cool, and I always used to have a bit of a crush on him!” Remus told his partner excitedly. Remus remembered the way his heart used to flip whenever he would read the comics, not noticing then the feeling of a crush.  
“What’s so good about the man spider? I can do magic and turn into a dog!” Sirius rolled his eyes at him, getting only slightly jealous. Remus laughed at Sirius and gave him a kiss to calm him down, stroking his hair.   
“Don’t forget Sirius, I had a crush on you for five years before you even noticed me!” Remus shoved Sirius playfully.   
“That’s not true and you know it! We’ve talked about this baby, I liked you all those years too, neither of us had the balls to do anything about it until sixth year,” Sirius reminisced.   
“Remember how Lily literally had to force the two of us together! I was so nervous to talk to you, but she knew I liked you and made me talk to you about how I felt,” Remus said.  
“And remember how James literally did the same for me! It’s like they planned it all,” Sirius laughed, remembering everything. Remus sighed, sad at the thought that it had been a year since they’d died. It had equally been the worst and best year of their lives. Raising Harry and being married had been wonderful, however, each moment that came from this was basked in a sad light at the thought of what Lily and James were missing.   
“They would have loved this Rem. Seeing Harry getting dressed up and getting excited about sweets,” Sirius sighed, putting his head in his boyfriend’s lap. Remus played with Sirius’s black hair, letting his fingers get tangled in it, thinking about the past year and how difficult it had all been, but also how lovely raising Harry had been. A feeling of guilt washed over Remus every time he thought this, knowing that the only reason the two were raising Harry was because of their friend’s death. Remus was taken out of his thinking when he felt Sirius’s tears falling onto his legs. The cold splashes took him a back, Remus reached down to his partner, bringing him up to look him in the eye. Sirius’s face was tear stained, and he looked miserable. Remus drew him in, hugging to him so, so tight. Sirius sobbed into his shoulder.  
“It’s my fault Remus, it’s all my fault,” Sirius strangled out, his chest heaving as he said it, “I could’ve just stayed secretkeeper, then I’d be dead, and they could’ve lived to see their son grow.”  
“Padfoot, you can’t say that, you mustn’t say that, please,” Remus began crying, hearing his partner say this was too much, “You can’t blame yourself for what Peter did, please. He’s the reason James and Lily are dead, not you.” The pair cried until they had no tears left, so distraught with grief. 

“Harry! It’s time to get all dressed up now! Are you excited!” Sirius spun Harry around the living room. Harry squealed with laughter, clearly eager to get in his costume. Remus got the Spiderman costume on him, struggling as Harry would try to dance around, too excited to keep still. Sirius laughed, ruffling Harry’s hair up. Sirius wanted to go in his own ‘costume’ for Halloween, so after some convincing to Remus, Sirius transformed into his Animagus. Remus didn’t dress up, but he put some fangs in, laughing at the hilarity of the situation, a werewolf dressing up as a vampire. The three then set off to go and trick or treat around the houses in their neighbourhood. Harry toddled around carrying a pillowcase as a way to transport the many sweets he was getting, as their neighbours couldn’t resist his precious smile. The sun was starting to set, so the pair decided on only a few more houses. They stopped at one a street over from theirs.  
“Trick treat!” Harry yelled excitedly, anticipating more sweets to fall into his possession. Remus picked him up, giving Padfoot a head scratch.  
“Oh aren’t you just the cutest Spiderman I’ve ever seen!” A twenty-something year old woman answered the door, dressed in what looked like a nurse’s costume. She leant over Padfoot to squeeze Harry’s cheek. Harry smiled into his neck, shoving the pillowcase out. The woman laughed, dropping some sweets into it.   
“So, are you a single dad? That’s so sweet!” She drawled out, checking Remus out, looking him up and down.   
“Oh, no, actually, I have a partner.” Remus said politely.   
“Oh that’s too bad, you are really quite cute,” She twirled her hair, biting her lip, “She’s a very lucky lady to have such an attractive partner.” She giggled into her hand, but the noise was suddenly cut off by Padfoot barking, loudly. Padfoot went crazy, snarling at the woman, gnashing his teeth at her. The woman shrieked and slammed the door shut. Sirius in his Animagus form strutted away, looking very satisfied with himself. Remus shook his head, and as soon as he was far away enough from the house, he burst out laughing. Padfoot ran up to Remus and Harry and jumped up and down, barking playfully. Remus sat Harry on Padfoot’s back, and Harry giggled as Padfoot pranced home. 

Once the three of them were home, Harry laid out all his sweets, putting them in piles or yummiest to his least favourite. Remus and Sirius were very happy as Harry seemed to dislike all their favourites. As Harry was still making his pile, he started to fall asleep, his head bobbing up and down as he tried to keep himself awake to eat all of his sweets. Remus bent down and scooped him up, rocking him in his arms. Sirius followed behind, checking out his partner as he walked up the stairs in front of him. Remus got Harry out of his Spiderman costume, getting him into some warm pyjamas and put him in his bed. Sirius sat on the chair next to Harry’s cot, and started to sing softly in French to his little boy. Sirius knowing French was still a shock to Remus, even after hearing this lullaby for the past year, he still fell in love with Sirius a little more each time he hears it. Remus smiled as Sirius finished the song, giving Harry a kiss on the forehead. The pair went to bed, feeling drained from the day.


	6. Chapter Six

Time was whizzing past, always, the pair hardly felt like they had time to breathe. Raising Harry, as fulfilling as it was, was a handful. There was so much of Lily and James in him, and these features and quirks became clearer day after day as Harry grew and aged. Sirius and Remus agreed that it was so wonderful seeing the best parts of James and Lily in Harry as he grew, but there was an underlying sense of despair that the two felt, knowing that Harry’s parents weren’t there to witness this. Sirius and Remus knew however, that they wouldn’t want anyone else to raise Harry. They’d had a conversation about it only a few months before the Potter’s had died. 

“James, Sirius, can you please stop forcing Harry onto that stupid broom you got him,” Lily shouted at the pair from their kitchen. James and Sirius groaned, and Harry giggled, toddling as fast as he could to the broom.  
“Lily, he’s got a mind of his own! He loves the thing!” James shouted back cheerfully. “I’m telling you, Pads, Harry’s going to go pro one day!” James scooped up Harry and made him squeal. Sirius laughed and made sparks shoot out of his wand to entertain Harry.   
“So, how was your sexy trip away together? I’m surprised Moody let you two go somewhere without any aurors!” James asked Sirius with a wink. Sirius laughed, but went bright red at the same time. The two were very open about their relationships with each other, but never too much about their sex lives.  
“Let’s just say that Rem and I had a lot of fun,” Sirius laughed again, James joining in. Remus and Lily walked in shortly after, carrying dinner through. They placed down the roast, with potatoes and vegetables to accompany it. James grabbed Harry, who was playing with Sirius’s wand, and placed Harry next to himself. The five of them enjoyed a delicious dinner, James and Sirius complimenting their respective partners on their wonderful work in the kitchen.   
“Rem actually made dessert, I’ll go and grab it,” Lily said, grabbing Harry to let him come and help.  
“So, Moony, were you still thinking of asking Dumbledore for a job at Hogwarts? You’d be an excellent professor,” James asked, wiping his mouth and drinking from his glass, “You know he’d love you as an addition.”  
“Yeah, I’m not too sure, I’d love to teach back there, but I want to be here helping out as well with the Order. I want to make sure I know exactly what I want before asking Dumbledore for such a favour,” Remus replied, “Plus, I’ve got to keep an eye on this one at all times, make sure he doesn’t terrorise our new neighbours.” Remus shoved his boyfriend, the three of them laughing. Lily came back from the kitchen with the cake that Remus had made, a lovely lemon drizzle. The four of them grabbed a slice, whereas Harry had some chocolate pudding, the lemon drizzle being too sour for him.  
“We actually wanted to have a serious chat with you two, if that’s alright,” Lily asked, “James and I were thinking we need to assign Harry some godparents, you know, just in case.” Lily’s eyes started to tear up a bit at this, James’s too. James grabbed Lily’s hand and gave it a squeeze.   
“We were hoping the two of you would be Harry’s godfathers?” James asked, looking at Sirius and Remus. The two newlyweds stared back; their mouths agape.   
“You would seriously want us to look after Harry? Wow, thank you for having that much trust in us.” Remus said sincerely, getting very serious all of a sudden, sensing this was in fact, a very serious chat after all.   
“Of course we would look after Harry, we love him dearly. But why all this talk all of a sudden? “Sirius asked.  
“Dumbledore came over and told us that for whatever reason, you-know-who is targeting us, the three of us. He didn’t say why, but it sounds like we have a reason to be scared. So we want to know, that if James and I die, Harry is going to someone who loves him and will raise him with love. We also have another favour to ask…” Lily trailed off.  
“Sirius, will you be our secret-keeper? Dumbledore is putting our house under the fidelius charm tomorrow and we need a secret-keeper, and we trust you with our whole being.” James asked.   
“I would do anything for you, for Lily and for Harry. Of course I’ll be your secret-keeper. You have my word.” The pair stood up and hugged each other. Remus became very silent after hearing all of this, a deep terror starting to form in his stomach. The group had had to face death eaters and Voldemort multiple times now, but they had always had each other and the rest of the Order to help, or even Dumbledore himself. But it seemed now that with Voldemort targeting the Potter’s, this battle was about to become more personal.   
Remus went over to Lily, who had begun crying, and comforted her. James and Sirius went over too, the four of them all deeply saddened and grieving any sense of youth they’d had left. Harry sensed a shift in mood and began to cry as well. James picked him up and hugged him to himself. Sirius and Remus went home that evening, terrified at the information they had learnt, and hoped dearly that everything would be ok.   
It would be shortly after that, that James and Sirius began to keep the secret of changing the keeper over to Pete, and subsequently, that everything would change forever.


	7. Chapter Seven

Raising an energetic toddler and dating an illegal Animagus had its challenges, but Remus Lupin’s largest challenge to date was being a werewolf and the complications that came with this outside of Hogwarts. First was getting over the hurdle of buying a house with his boyfriend, Sirius Black, in London and somehow making it werewolf proof for his transformations. They decided on building a small shed out in their very small courtyard and magicking the fuck out of it. Soundproof, muggle proof, toddler proof and werewolf proof. Remus would go out there each full moon, Sirius would cast a calming charm that he had found to help his partner and would lock it up as much as possible. The second problem with being a werewolf was the aftermath of the full moon. Remus’s energy was so depleted that he was more susceptible to feeling depressed the day after a transformation. These were usually the days he couldn’t face getting out of bed. This feeling had only gotten worse after the death of his closest friends. Beforehand, only his boyfriend was counting on him to get better, but now he had Harry to look after, and the pressure was sometimes unbearable.   
“My love, it’s noon, I think it’s time to get you up and out of here,” Sirius whispered to Remus, stroking his face to try to wake him up carefully. Sirius had taken the locking charms off of the shed and was trying to get his boyfriend out of the awful room. Remus had fresh blood on his cheek and scratch marks on his chest from the previous night. Inspecting the injuries, Sirius tutted and whilst sighing, pulled Remus up and helped him into their kitchen. Sitting in front of Remus was a bowl of soup and Harry in the highchair opposite. Harry babbled at the sight of his Moony, happily waving his spoon around the air trying to get Remus to smile. Sirius planted a kiss on both their foreheads and coaxed Remus into eating some of his soup, after using some essence of dittany to heal a few of his worse cuts on his chest. After a few sips, feeling nauseous and fatigued, Remus shoved himself away from the table and got up.   
“Going to bed, thanks for the soup,” Remus said gruffly. He shuffled up the stairs to their bedroom and collapsed onto the bed and fell straight asleep. He didn’t wake until later that night after Sirius climbed into the bed with him and plopped Harry in between them.   
“Harry, look who it is, it’s Moony, can you say Moony?” Sirius asked Harry.  
“Moon, moo, knee,” Harry tried to repeat, “Moo.” Sirius giggled at the attempt, turning to Remus.   
“Rem, do you hear that? Harry is so clever, isn’t he?” Sirius laughed, kissing Harry all over his face. Remus was still turned away from the two of them, desperately trying to block out the noise of his boyfriend and son. He was just so tired, to his core, so exhausted and heartbreakingly sad.  
“Rem? Moony? Baby, can you please turn around to look at me?” Sirius tugged on his boyfriend’s shoulder. Remus shoved his hand off, muttering under his breath. “What was that?” Sirius asked.  
“Just please, leave me alone, please,” Remus said, crying silently, “I want to be alone.” Sirius sighed, picking Harry up and left the room. Remus continued crying, sobbing, his mind swirling with the images of his friend’s dead bodies, and still hearing Harry shrieking for his parents he would never get to see again. His feelings were so excruciating sometimes, that all he could do was sleep to try to reclaim some of the peace he was missing in his life.   
Remus slept again, finally waking up the next morning, starving. He could smell his favourite breakfast, knowing Sirius must be trying to make him feel better. He pulled a jumper of Sirius’s over his head and went downstairs. Sirius had the table made, a bouquet of flowers in the centre of it, along with bacon and eggs. Harry was back in the highchair, this time shoving some scrambled eggs into his mouth, fist by fist. Remus smiled, and sat down next to Harry, and helped him eat his food, slightly slower and way less messy than how he was doing it before. Sirius sat down next to Remus, kissing him on the cheek, an understanding passing through them. Since Lily and James’s passing, both Sirius and Remus have had their fair share of depressive episodes, and they know each time that all they need is each other and their Harry. 

The three were over at the Weasley’s home a couple of weeks after the full moon and were talking about how their little family needed a break away from their routine.   
“We’re just thinking of somewhere the three of us can spend a weekend together away from the house,” Remus told Molly, helping himself to one of her homemade biscuits, “We’re not quite sure where to go.”  
“Oh! You saying that has reminded me! Arthur’s aunt has a cottage in Cornwall, a lovely cottage, right on the beach there. His aunt is going away to visit a few relatives, so it’ll be empty! I can ask if you’re alright to stay there?”  
“Molly, that would be lovely! Oh, Sirius! Harry can see the ocean and play in the sand!” Remus turned to his partner, very excited. The pair flooed home and got to planning their weekend away. Molly owled them a few days later saying they had the house all to themselves for the next two nights, so the pair went to packing all of their things, bringing swimmers, fleeces and toys for Harry. The three of them apparated to Shell Cottage and were hit with the salty air as soon as they landed. Harry saw the sand and ran right to it. Sirius dropped everything he was holding and ran after him. Remus laughed, and took everything inside. There was so much light in the house. Remus found the master bedroom and dumped all their stuff in there. It was painted a lovely pale blue, with windows that were wide open, giving Remus a view of his boyfriend and his son prancing around in the water. Even though the weather was starting to warm up, and it was still very bitter outside, the two didn’t seem to care, they were just having fun splashing around. Sirius threw a giggling Harry over his shoulder and ran around with him, feigning to throw him in the water, causing another eruption of laughter from Harry. Remus smiled to himself, feeling his heart warm at the sight. Remus wandered down to the kitchen and decided to start on dinner for the night. He was going to make something nice for the three of them. The pair usually didn’t have a lot of time to cook nice dinners, but Remus had always enjoyed cooking the muggle way. The feeling of creating something out of nothing was so satisfying to him. He decided on a fish pie, with apple crumble for dessert. Right after Remus had put dinner in the oven, a very wet Sirius and Harry came in through the door. Harry was shaking his hair to get the sand out of is and Sirius was doing the same. Remus laughed, going over to his son to help him. He picked up Harry, setting him down on the kitchen sink, and tried his best to get all the sand out.   
“The two of you are going to need a long hot bath after that,” Remus said, half rolling his eyes, half laughing to himself.  
“Well, Moony, you could always join me,” Sirius winked at his lover. Remus blushed, looking away. He would never get over how hot Sirius was. That lust had never really disappeared, and Remus was so glad. Since his second year at Hogwarts, Remus had seemed to notice everything about Sirius, and had seen just how beautiful he really was. Sirius laughed, and kissed him. Remus kissed him right back, very much looking forward to that bath.   
“Ew, stop kissing!” Harry giggled. The pair looked at Harry and laughed, coming up to him and kissing him all over his chubby cheeks. Harry really was the cutest kid. Sweet green eyes, jet black hair, the cutest smile. He was going to grow up to be such an amazing person, Remus and Sirius both knew this as fact. Remus put some music on, and the two of them swung Harry around and danced with him in the kitchen. Remus got back to preparing dinner, but watched the two continue to dance around, signing the words of songs the two had heard when they were at Hogwarts. Remus served up dinner, the three silent, enjoying the food Remus had made.  
“Rem, this is delicious!” Sirius said, with Harry nodding as he scooped the fish pie into his mouth. Remus leant over and dropped a kiss on Sirius’s cheek. Dinner went down a treat, and they still had dessert to go.   
“Harry, do you want to help me get dessert ready?” Remus lifted Harry up and walked him over to the kitchen. Remus planted him up on the counters, giving him the ice cream to scoop into their bowls. Remus got the apple crumble out of the oven and spooned it into the same bowls. Remus laughed at Harry as he gave himself three scoops of ice cream.  
“You think I wouldn’t notice Harry? Silly, silly!” Remus tickled him under his chin. Harry giggled, and took his bowl and began eating.  
“No, not yet, we have to wait for Padfoot before we start eating,” Remus magicked the bowls onto the dining table, and the two sat down again.  
“Bloody hell, this is the better than Hogwarts’s apple crumble!” Sirius exclaimed. Remus tutted, smacking him for swearing in front of Harry.  
“Bloody hell!” Harry said in his sweet little voice. Sirius cracked up laughing as Remus tried to scold the two of them, but soon gave in to the hilarity of their two-year-old swearing. Sirius magicked the dishes to do themselves and the pair put their little toddler to bed and closed the door as quiet as they could. The floors were a lot squeakier in this old cottage than at the Lupin-Black residence.   
“Is it time for our bath now, Moony?” Sirius asked seductively, leading him to the bathroom. 

Sirius and Remus woke up, feeling refreshed. This was the first time the pair had slept through the night. It had either been Harry or their respective nightmares waking them up at odd hours. Sirius got up, going to Harry’s room to check on him. Their sweet son was still snoozing, so Sirius got back into bed with his partner. He leant over to kiss him, and Remus wrapped his arms around Sirius’s neck, dragging him into the kiss. Remus pushed Sirius off him, and got on top, feeling down Sirius’s beautiful body. Sirius reached up to rake his hands through his Moony’s curls, relishing in how soft they always were. Remus laughed and kissed his boyfriend passionately. He never imagined that his life would lead him here. His schoolboy crush on Sirius had turned into true love and raising a son together. He wouldn’t trade it for the world.


	8. Chapter Eight

Sirius was itching for something. Something satisfying, something to take his mind off of things. He had tried delving into parenting Harry, that didn’t work. He tried fucking his boyfriend every chance he got, also didn’t hit the spot, at least, not the spot he was hoping for. He had tried drinking, but was so worried about becoming his mother, he abandoned that idea very quickly. He realised he was bored. Sirius Orion Black wasn’t made to be bored. He needed to get out of the house and do something, something worthwhile. Something interesting.   
“Babe, I’m thinking of finding a job,” Sirius announced at dinner, some night in the summer leading up to Harry’s third birthday. “Something I can throw myself into, a career, something to do.” Remus laughed, understanding the need to do something other than parent. “I’m not sure what I want to do though, I’ve never needed to do anything, so I’ve never really had a proper think. There was Hogwarts, then there was the Order, then there was this. But I want to get out and provide for my lovely little family,” He said whilst giving Harry’s cheeks a squeeze. “Help me please Moony!” Sirius pleaded.   
“Well, what do you like doing Pads?” Remus asked, still laughing at how funny his boyfriend was, surprising him every chance he got.   
“I like doing you, that’s for sure,” Sirius said suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows at his love. Remus yelped, trying to cover Harry’s ears, but it was too late. Remus whacked his boyfriend, laughing and blushing.   
“Be serious! And don’t say that stupid joke, I’ve been hearing it for the past eleven years!” Remus shouted, still laughing.  
“Okay, okay. Well, I like doing things with my hands, I like being able to see results and I like helping people?” Sirius sighed, nothing coming to mind. He couldn’t picture himself working in the Ministry. It was still so messy there after the war, and plus, he didn’t like the idea of bumping into any death eater family members awaiting trial there. Remus had his thinking face on and was clearly wracking his brain. Harry was looking between the two of them and tried to imitate Remus. Sirius snorted and gave Harry a kiss.   
“Let’s think this over for the next couple of days and see if we can come up with something!” Remus said at last, clearly not having thought of anything either. He gave Sirius a kiss and took Harry upstairs for a bath. 

Harry’s third birthday snuck up on the couple. They were both still thinking of ideas for Sirius and hadn’t spent much time thinking of a way to celebrate the birth of their adopted son.   
“Can we just have a quiet one this year? Maybe just invite over the Weasley’s?” Remus asked, looking hopeful. He knew his boyfriend loved a party.  
“Yeah, that sounds fine, I don’t want Hagrid coming in and squashing the rose bush out front again this year, I just replanted them.” Sirius agreed. He owled Molly that night and invited them all over for the next day. They all piled out of the floo network, Fred and George coughing, still getting the hang of flooing. Bill and Charlie were now both at Hogwarts, and were going back in the September coming, and were delighted to talk about it with Remus and Sirius. Molly and Arthur both went up to wish Harry a happy birthday, watching him giggle with Ron and the twins. The two families had a nice quiet lunch that day, just sitting in the garden with some twinkling fairy lights above them. The street noises of London were a nice background noise along with the giggling of lots of children.  
“It sure is nice hearing Harry having fun with kids his own age,” Remus said, watching Ron, Fred, George and Percy all playing with Harry and his new toys he got for his birthday. “It makes me wish he had siblings to play with.”  
“You two are such wonderful parents, I’m sure that when the time came and you were ready, you could adopt another?” Molly said, “I’m so glad that Minister Bagnold didn’t listen to the muggle prime minister’s crap and has legalised it for gay couples to do so. There are too many magical babies who are orphaned after their muggle parents don’t want them anymore.” Arthur nodded along with what his wife was saying. Sirius and Remus looked at each other in surprise.  
“When did this happen? We haven’t been looking at the Prophet recently.” Sirius questioned.  
“Oh! Just the other day I think, we have an owl deliver the Daily Prophet to us,” Said Arthur, “Since the war, once muggle born kids are showing signs, a few of the muggles have been dumping them in orphanages, scared after what You-Know-Who did. Word escaped to a few of them, I think. How awful is that?” Arthur was shaking his head.  
“Awful, honestly! Since this has been happening, Minister Bagnold has legalised it for magical couples, of any gender, be able to adopt these magical kids. She said that is was a waste of magic for these kids to be stuck in these awful homes, saying she would rather they grow up surrounded by their own kind.” Molly explains excitedly. Sirius tingles all over, getting excited just hearing this. How had they missed the most amazing news? He looked at Remus who must’ve been feeling the same way. Once the candles had been blown on Harry’s cake, and the Weasley’s had left, the couple got into bed that night, full of hope and the knowledge of new possibilities for their future as a family.


	9. Chapter Nine

A New Life

A couple of weeks had past, and the couple were still relishing in the news they had heard on Harry’s birthday. Knowing that they would be able to grow their family was keeping the two going. The feeling of hope was growing, a feeling that had diminished at the death of their friends. Sirius and Remus were feeling hopeful for the first time in a long time.  
“It’s a full moon tonight baby, how you feeling?” Sirius asked his boyfriend, going and stroking his cheek.  
“Anxious, and fidgety, and sore already, like my body is anticipating the transformation.” Remus sighed, taking a bite into the sandwich he had made for lunch. Sirius went behind his boyfriend and started rubbing his shoulders, trying to help him feel better. Remus leant into him, closing his eyes and feeling his stomach get anxious for the night he was about to have. Sirius came around, straddling Remus’s lap, and started kissing him. Remus leant into him, desperately, hungry, trying to forget about what was waiting for him tonight. 

“It always catches me by surprise how bloody powerful you are before a full moon,” Sirius panted, collapsing next to his boyfriend on their bed. Remus snorted, kissed Sirius and got up to go and wake Harry from his nap. Harry was still snoozing, looking so peaceful. Remus leant down and gave his forehead a kiss to wake him up. Harry stirred, and lifted his little arms up to Remus.  
“Moony, Moony,” Harry’s little sleepy voice said. Remus smiled, hearing his favourite sound in the world. Remus picked him up, cuddling him to himself, letting Harry wake up. Remus turned around, seeing Sirius leaning against the doorframe, hair still messy, shirtless and beautiful, and Remus smiled to himself, knowing that getting through the full moon was worth it, as he had the most amazing people waiting for him afterwards.  
“Let’s adopt another child Rem,” Sirius said, seeing his beautiful boyfriend and their son together. “I think we could make it work, and Harry would love a sibling I bet.” Remus’s heart grew warmer, feeling true happiness for the first time in a while. He nodded his head and went to kiss his boyfriend. Still hugging Harry to him, Remus and Sirius danced around Harry’s room, Harry giggling with the couple.  
“Do you want a sibling Harry?” Remus asked, putting Harry down.  
“Yes, yes!” Harry screamed, giggling, “I can be a big brother like Ron!” Sirius and Remus laughed. The three played in Harry’s room together for most of the night before Remus had to go into the shed.  
“I wish I could come with you, as Padfoot, like we used to in school,” Sirius said, sighing as he led his boyfriend into the cold awful shed. “I miss running around Hogwarts with you, James, and Peter.”  
“I know, me too, the transformations were always so much easier when I had the three of you with me. Not that Peter could ever keep up with us.” Remus agreed. Sirius wrapped his arms around his lover, holding him tight, always knowing the danger before a full moon, and hoped to himself desperately that Remus would be ok in the morning. Remus hugged Sirius back, hoping the same thing. Remus went into the shed, with Sirius closing the door behind him. He could barely hear his boyfriend as he muttered the protection charms onto the shed as he laid down on the pile of blankets in the room, trying to make himself comfortable before the transformation begun, knowing the pain that came with it. Once the moon was fully in the dark sky, Remus could feel his bones contracting, his skin tearing. He could hear other wolves in the area howling for one another. Once his skin started growing fur, and the wolf within him came loose, Remus the human was nowhere to be found, blacking out for the night. 

Remus stretched, hearing his bones cracking, and felt his dry mouth feel like cotton. The morning after was like waking up with the worst hangover. His senses felt heightened still, and he could hear Sirius opening the backdoor of the house and the grass under his feet as he came to check on his boyfriend. Remus shrunk back as the light was let into the shed, after being in darkness all night. Sirius put Remus’s arm over his shoulder and helped him into the house.  
“Oh, you have a few nasty cuts today,” Sirius sighed, going over the large cut on Remus’s arm with some essence of dittany, “It will probably leave a scar love, sorry.” Remus shrugged, used to the scars after nineteen years of being a werewolf. He had some pretty bad ones on his face that Harry liked to poke at. Sirius floated around Remus, getting him fed and watered, and making sure he was comfortable.  
“How are you feeling today, mood wise?” Sirius asked as he gave Remus his food.  
“Not as bad as last month, will definitely be going to bed soon though, I’m so drained.” Remus ate as much as he could of his lunch, and after taking the last bite, a thought came to him suddenly, he couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it sooner. “Pads, you are always so good at taking care of me, and patching me up, and you were always doing the same at Hogwarts with me and James after our pranks. How about being a Healer at St Mungo’s?” Remus asked his boyfriend excitedly, forgetting about the pain.  
“Oh bloody hell, that’s perfect!” Sirius laughed. “How did it take us so long to think of that?” Sirius leapt over to his boyfriend and gave him a big kiss. “I’ll have to take classes, and it will be weird hours, but we could make it work, right?”  
“Of course, whatever you need my love.” Remus smiled, feeling confident that his boyfriend would be perfect for the role.


End file.
